Barry McElduff has been elected in Fermanagh and Omagh council. The former Sinn Fein MP was elected for the party on the fourth count to Omagh district electoral area.
He did not reach the quota (910) after polling 900 first-preference vote. Errol Thompson of the DUP topped the poll with 970 votes.
Mr McElduff had reisgned from the party in 2018 after a photo appeared on social media of him balancing a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head on the anniversary of the killing of 10 Protestant workmen at Kingsmill in 1976.
Mr McElduff has always maintained he did not mean to cause offence.
There was a silent reaction from Mr McElduff, his family and other members of Sinn Féin when it was officially confirmed that the former MP was elected.
Speaking after, he said: "I want to be as respectful and dignified as I can be when challenged.
"I want to acknowledge the suffering of everyone in the conflict. I respect everybody who has lost someone in the conflict. I am Irish republican, anti-sectarian and we have a vision of a new Ireland which is inclusive of all our citizens.
"The people have elected me, the people have spoken. I'm very grateful to the people of Omagh."
There was also resounding success for independent nationalist councillor John McCluskey, who was elected on the first count in Erne East today.
The council newcomer, who campaigned on health issues and the removal of GP services from his home village of Roslea, polled 1,286 votes and was among the first three councillors to be elected at the count in Omagh Leisure Centre.
He said he was pleased people had got behind him and the victory belonged not to him but the "people of Fermanagh".
There was a perfect birthday present for John Coyle who was re-elected for the SDLP in Erne North, while the party secured another seat in West Tyrone with sitting councillor and chairperson Mary Garrity being elected on the third count.
The DUP was first out of the blocks with Paul Robinson polling the highest number of votes in Erne East.
The councillor of 13 years said "working on the ground" for voters had paid off.
His vote of 1,382 - the quota was 1,209 - was followed closely by the UUP's Victor Warrington on 1,352.
There was resounding victory too for UUP councillor Alex Baird who topped the poll in Erne West, having also led the way in 2014.
He said he was "pleased and relieved", being a '"glass half empty rather than a glass half full" man, adding that although he is a unionist he works for everyone in his area.
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Fermanagh and Omagh District Council
40 seats
Change since 2014:
SF 15 (-2), UUP 9 (-), SDLP 5 (-3), DUP 5 (-), All 1 (+1), CCLA 1 (+1), Ind 4 (+3)
Turnout: 62 per cent
Enniskillen (Quota: 1,033)
Keith Elliott (DUP) 1,161
Paul Blake (SDLP) 955
Tommy Maguire (SF) 946
Debbie Coyle (SF) 761
Robert Irvine (UUP) 753
Donal O Cofaigh (Cross Community Labour Alternative) 720
Howard Thornton (UUP) 651
Donald Crawford (TUV) 492
Simon Wiggins (DUP) 340
Matthew Beaumont (All)
Debbie Coleman (Green)
Elected
Keith Elliott (DUP) 1st count
Paul Blake (SDLP) 4th count
Robert Irvine (UUP) 6th count
Howard Thornton (UUP) 6th count
Tommy Maguire (SF) 7th count
Donal O Cofaigh (CCLA) 7th count
Erne East (6 seats, Quota 1,209)
Paul Robinson (DUP) 1,382
Victor Warrington (UUP) 1,352
John McCluskey (Ind) 1,286
Sheamus Greene (SF) 1,032
Garbhan McPhillips (SDLP) 839
Thomas O’Reilly (SF) 829
Noeleen Hayes (SF) 738
Brian McCaffrey (SF) 620
Caroline Wheeler (Ind) 204
Gerry McHugh (Aontú) 174
Elected
Paul Robinson (DUP) 1st count
Victor Warrington (UUP) 1st count
John McCluskey (Ind) 1st count
Garbhan McPhillips (SDLP) 6th count
Sheamus Greene (SF) 6th count
Thomas O’Reilly (SF) 6th count
Erne North (5 seats, Quota 1,142)
Diana Armstrong (UUP) 1,186
Siobhan Currie (SF) 1,055
John Coyle (SDLP) 911
John Feely (SF) 769
David Mahon (DUP) 732
Deborah Armstrong (DUP) 668
John McClaughry (UUP) 630
Alex Elliott (TUV) 465
Diane Little (All) 413
Lewis Jennings (Democrats and Veterans Party) 20
Elected
Diana Armstrong (UUP) 1st count
John Coyle (SDLP) 2nd count
Siobhan Currie (SF) 3rd count
Deborah Armstrong (DUP) 7th count
John McClaughry (UUP) 7th count
Erne West (5 seats, Quota 1,231)
Alex Baird (UUP) 1,333
Anthony Feely (SF) 1,208
Bernice Swift (SF) 1,159
Chris McCaffrey (SF) 1,136
Fionnuala Leonard (SF) 879
Adam Gannon (SDLP) 611
Carol Johnston (DUP) 547
Trevor Armstrong (Ind) 512
Elected
Alex Baird (UUP) 1st count
Bernice Swift (SF) 3rd count
Anthony Feely (SF) 3rd count
Chris McCaffrey (SF) 4th count
Adam Gannon (SDLP) 4th count
Mid Tyrone (6 seats, Quota: 1,156)
Padraigin Kelly (SF) 995
Bert Wilson (UUP) 979
Catherine Kelly (SF) 964
James Managh (DUP) 931
Emmet McAleer (Ind) 897
Sean Clarke (SF) 889
Sean Donnelly (SF) 778
Bernard McGrath (SDLP) 598
Rosemarie Shields (Aontú) 464
Richard Bullick (All) 306
Kevin McColgan (SF) 287
Elected
Emmet McAleer (Ind) 5th count
Padraigin Kelly (SF) 6th count
Bert Wilson (UUP) 6th count
Catherine Kelly (SF) 6th count
Sean Clarke (SF) 6th count
Sean Donnelly (SF) 6th count
Omagh (6 seats, Quota 910)
Errol Thompson (DUP) 970
Barry McElduff (SF) 900
Josephine Deehan (Ind) 728
Christopher Smyth (UUP) 633
Stephen Donnelly (All) 616
Anne Marie Fitzgerald (SF) 589
Marty McColgan (SF) 509
Jacinta McKeown (SDLP) 258
Lee Hawkes (SDLP) 256
Sorcha McAnespy (Ind) 194
Margaret Swift (Aontú) 182
Susan Glass (Green) 141
Joanne Donnelly (Ind) 128
Charles Chittick (TUV) 115
Barry Brown (Citizens Independent Social Thought Alliance) 101
Will Convey (Ind) 43
Elected
Errol Thompson (DUP) 1st count
Barry McElduff (SF) 4th count
Josephine Anne Deehan (Ind) 8th count
Christopher Smyth (UUP) 11th count
Stephen Donnelly (All) 11th count
Anne Marie Fitzgerald (SF) 11th count
West Tyrone (6 seats, Quota 1,079)
Mark Buchanan (DUP) 1,546
Allan Rainey (UUP) 1,095
Mary Garrity (SDLP) 1,047
Glenn Campbell (SF) 983
Stephen McCann (SF) 839
Ann-Marie Donnelly (SF) 752
Frankie Donnelly (SF) 653
Fia Cowan (All) 390
Cathal McCrory (Aontú) 242
Elected
Mark Buchanan (DUP) 1st count
Allan Rainey (UUP) 1st count
Mary Garrity (SDLP) 2nd count
Ann-Marie Donnelly (SF) 5th count
Glenn Campbell (SF) 5th count
Stephen McCann (SF) 6th coun
